A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume III: Books 5.25-8.109

Simon Hornblower

The third and final volume of the only commentary in English by a single author on the complete writings of Thucydides, the great fifth-century BC historian of the Peloponnesian War

Contains many new interpretations of well-known passages and problems, as well as providing full bibliographical orientation in the copious modern literature on Thucydides

Includes a full thematic introduction discussing a variety of topics

All Greek is translated, so readers without Greek can appreciate the detail of Thucydides' thought and his subject-matter

A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume III: Books 5.25-8.109

Simon Hornblower

Description

This is the third and final volume (Vol. I 1991, Vol. II 1996) of a historical and literary commentary on the history of the first 20 years of the twenty-seven-year 'Peloponnesian War' (between the Athenians and Spartans and their respective allies) written by the great fifth-century BC historian Thucydides. The present volume of commentary covers the ten closely-narrated years 421-411 BC, and nearly half of the total of eight 'books' (subdivisions) of Thucydides' work. It includes one of the most famous sections of ancient Greek literary writing, the lengthy and supremely dramatic account of the disastrous Athenian expedition against Sicily (415-413) in Books 6 and 7; but also the Melian Dialogue (Book 5), a notorious document of Athenian imperialism; and the account of the oligarchic revolution at Athens in 411 (Book 8). All Greek is translated. There is a thematic General Introduction and two Appendixes.

A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume III: Books 5.25-8.109

Simon Hornblower

Author Information

A Commentary on Thucydides: Volume III: Books 5.25-8.109

Simon Hornblower

Reviews and Awards

"Hornblower's erudition is immense and illuminating, he's not afraid to use his imagination, and the political no less than the academic world will be in his debt for generations. That is no small achievement." - Peter Green, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year 2009

"This wonderful book, beautifully presented by the publisher, with a superb index, sustains its life and energy over more than a thousand pages above all through conversation, in which the reader feels himself (or herself) included." - Malcolm Schofield, Times Literary Supplement

"The effort [Hornblower] has put into explicating Thucydides' text is monumental, and the historian is fortunate to have found a commentator of such devotion." - John Marincola, Classical Review